Aboutam says the current controversy over antiquities owned by American museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Gettyand the accompanying media outcryhas only increased collectors' interest in the field. (It is worth noting that two years ago Aboutam himself paid a small fine after running into legal difficulties involving the importation of an Iranian object.) This spring, the gallery will mount an exhibition of some 26 Greek vases, with a scholarly catalogue. It's a timely show, given the Met's recent promise to return its Euphronius vase to Italy. "Italy's going after these pieces. All of this has exposed the existence of the market and the importance of antiquities," he says. "My new clients are surprised by how affordable these things are." New clients? "Some of them work for hedge funds," he adds.

Two of the vases in the show are already on hold, for $180,000 and $190,000, one of them to a museum that has not collected antiquities in the past, Aboutam says.

New Director Looks to The Future: More Outreach, More Contemporary
In early December, the fair announced it had a new director in Michael Mezzatesta, formerly director of the Duke University Museum of Art. A smart, clearly shrewd man with a scholarly attitude, Mezzatesta is currently preparing for the 2007 edition of the fair.

Speaking with ArtInfo, he says his advantage, coming from the museum world, is his ability to speak with his colleagues, directors and curators "in a language they understand," and to address the challenges they face with their collector base. He points to the perspective he is able to bring to the fair, given what he calls the "historical importance" of the relationship between dealers, collectors and American museums.

Anita J. Ellis, director of curatorial affairs and curator of decorative arts at the Cincinnati Art Museum, who was in town for the fair, told ArtInfo that Mezzatesta, coming from a museum, has "three things that will make him a great director for this fair: He is charismatic, he is a good manager of a complex institution, and he's a scholar."

For the fair's future, Mezzatesta says he hopes to broaden its outreach. "The fair can play an educational role," he says, adding that one of his aims is to increase the number of lectures, seminars and tours, and to work with museums that are bringing groups of collectors, particularly young collectors. He also wants to develop more contacts for the fair in Latin America, especially in countries he has worked with, such as Venezuela, Guatemala and Argentina. He also wants to explore the connections he made in Russia while he built a collection of Russian art at Duke.

Another change Mezzatesta hints at for next year's fair is the increasing presence of contemporary art. "I've inherited a drop-dead date of 1970," he says. "But I would like to stress the continuity with the present." (He quickly adds that the 1970 date does not even now preclude art made later; and in fact, the booth of Italian dealer Marco Voena has a Julian Schnabel painting from his "Big Girl" series shown at Gagosian Gallery in 2001, that is up for resale at $600,000; Voena also as has some Warhols from 70s.)

"I need to discuss these things with the dealer committee, but I'd like to invite living artists to show one of their works next to something older from the fair," Mezzatesta says.

Masters of the Deal
Meanwhile, trendwatchers will want to keep an eye on the Old Masters market. At Voena, hanging not far from the Schnabel, was a 17th-century Luca Giordano painting of a philosopher, priced at $600,000. "People are so surprised to hear that true Italian masters cost less than post-War and contemporary art," said private dealer Kristin Gary, who was manning Voena's booth. "You can buy a great Old Master for less than a million."

Church Meets State
The small group of American, French and British journalists staying at the Palm Beach Marriott this weekend while covering "Palm Beach! America's International Fine Art & Antique Fair, now in its 10th year and located a few blocks down Okeechobee Boulevard at the Palm Beach Convention Center (where it runs Feb. 2-12), certainly didn't expect to see eminent Metropolitan Museum of Art director Philippe de Montebello strutting purposefully down the hotel's hallway towards a conference room one morning.